small animal PET/CT

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Positron emission tomography (PET) for small animals is an important non invasive imaging modality in preclinical research. Disease course can be studied in the animal model and therapy effects can be monitored by quantification of e.g. metabolic changes. A small amount of radioactive substance is injected and the radiation is externally registered by highly sensitive detectors. Dedicated small animal PET devices can generate images with sub-millimeter spatial resolution. In addition to the development of new PET radiopharmaceuticals, research focuses on neuro-degeneration, neuro-oncology, vestibular system, and cardiology. Since the same imaging principle is applied in humans, direct translation of PET imaging protocols into the clinic is straightforward. The current PET system needs to be replaced by a state-of-the-art PET system, which is combined with an x-ray CT device, to further provide an imaging platform for various cooperating research groups.